The Word Became Flesh: The Dynamic Humanity of Jesus: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

Jesus was a man who lived, died, and, according to his early followers, was Resurrected.1 In the Gospels, Jesus asks his apostles who people say he is. After hearing a variety of answers, ranging from the generic “one of the prophets” to the specific “John the Baptist, back from the dead,” he asks them “But who do you say I am?” Mark, the earliest gospel, portrays Peter saying simply “You are the Messiah,” (Mark 8: 29? but Matthew, written perhaps 20 years later, has Peter saying “You are the Christ [that is, the Messiah], the Son
of the Living God.” (Mt 16:11) Dermot Lane has outlined four distinct stages of Christological reflection (focusing on the phrase “Jesus is Lord”) in the formation of the New Testament literature itself, running from “Eschatological Prophet” (the bringer and ruler of the Kingdom) to the Word made flesh (“Lord” now indicating divinity). Each new stage was precipitated by historical shifts, whether the spread of the Gospel to new populations (Hellenistic Jews and Gentiles), or the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.